Stephenie Meyer

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Stephenie Meyer
Meyer on her book tour for Eclipse in 2007.
Meyer on her book tour for Eclipse in 2007.
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAmerican
GenreFantasy, Romance, Science fiction, Young adult
Website
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

Stephenie Meyer (née Morgan, born December 24, 1973) is an American author, known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have sold over 42 million copies worldwide,[1] with translations into 37 different languages around the globe.[2][3] A film adaptation of Twilight was released domestically on November 21, 2008. Meyer is also the author of the adult science-fiction novel The Host.

Meyer was named USA Today's "Author of the Year" in 2008.[4] She was also the biggest selling author of the year, having sold over 22 million books in 2008 alone,[5] with Twilight being the best selling book of the year.[6]

Personal life

Stephenie Meyer was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Stephen and Candy Morgan. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, with five siblings: Seth, Emily, Jacob, Paul, and Heidi. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she received a B.A. in English in 1995.[7] Meyer, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, met her husband Christian, nicknamed "Pancho", when she was growing up in Arizona, and married him in 1994. Together they have three sons: Gabe, Seth, and Eli.

The Twilight series

Twilight

Meyer says that the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003.[8] The dream was about a human girl, and a vampire who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood.[8] Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the transcript of what is now Chapter 13 of the book.[9] Despite having very little writing experience, in a matter of three months she had transformed that vivid dream into a completed novel.[10] After writing and editing the novel, she signed a three-book deal with Little, Brown and Company for $750,000. The book was released in 2005.

Twilight quickly gained recognition and won numerous honors, including:

The novel reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list for young adult chapter books,[11] and has been translated into 20 languages.[12] However, critical reception has been mixed. Booklist wrote, "There are some flaws here — a plot that could have been tightened, an overreliance on adjectives and adverbs to bolster dialogue — but this dark romance seeps into the soul."[13] Kirkus wrote: "[Twilight] is far from perfect: Edward's portrayal as monstrous tragic hero is overly Byronic, and Bella's appeal is based on magic rather than character. Nonetheless, the portrayal of dangerous lovers hits the spot; fans of dark romance will find it hard to resist."[14]

Subsequent novels

Meyer, November 2008

Following the success of Twilight (2005), Meyer expanded the story into a series with three more books: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007), and Breaking Dawn (2008). In its first week after publication, the first sequel, New Moon, debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Chapter Books, and in its second week rose to the #1 position, where it remained for the next eleven weeks. In total, it spent over 50 weeks on the list.[15] After the release of Eclipse, the first three "Twilight" books spent a combined 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list.[16] The fourth installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, was released with an initial print run of 3.7 million copies.[17] Over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day alone, setting a record in first-day sales performance for the Hachette Book Group USA.[18] The novel also won Meyer her first British Book Award, despite competition with JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard.[19] The series as a whole has sold over 42 million copies worldwide[2][3] in 37 countries.[20] In 2008, the four books of the series claimed the top four spots on USA Today's year-end bestseller list, making Meyer the first author to ever achieve this feat and the bestselling author of the year.[5]

Upon the completion of the fourth entry in the series, Meyer indicated that Breaking Dawn would be the final novel to be told from Bella Swan's perspective.[21] Midnight Sun was to be a companion novel to the series. It would be a retelling of the events of the novel Twilight, but from the perspective of Edward Cullen (as opposed to Bella Swan).[22] Meyer had hoped to have Midnight Sun published some time shortly after the release of Breaking Dawn, but after an online leak of a rough draft of its first 12 chapters, Meyer chose to delay the project indefinitely.[22][23] In addition, since Meyer has decided to pursue non-Twilight related books as a result of the leak, she made the rough chapters of "Midnight Sun" available on her website.[22]

The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide, which will give further information on the world of the Twilight series, is slated for release on December 31, 2009.[24]

Fan following

Meyer has gained a following among young adult readers for her Twilight novels, which are set in the small town of Forks on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. Forks has thus received an unusual amount of attention, and celebrates "Stephenie Meyer Day" on September 13, the date of character Bella Swan's birthday, in honor of the author.[25]

Fans express themselves in other ways: "[They] dress up like her characters. They write their own stories about them and post their tales on the Internet. When she appears at a bookstore, 3,000 people go to meet her. There are Twilight-themed rock bands."[26]

Inspiration

Meyer, an avid reader,[27] cites many novels as inspiration for the Twilight series, including Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.[28] Each book in the series was also inspired specifically by a different literary classic: Twilight by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; New Moon by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; Eclipse by Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights; and Breaking Dawn by a second Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night's Dream.[29]She also says that her writing is strongly influenced by music, and she posts "playlists" on her website of songs which specifically inspired her books. Bands included most often in her playlists are Muse, Blue October, My Chemical Romance, Coldplay, and Linkin Park.[30][31][32][33]

Criticism

The Twilight series, and Meyer's own writing ability, came under attack from famed author Stephen King, who claimed she 'can't write worth a darn', and 'she's not very good'.[34]

Film adaptations

Main articles: Twilight (2008 film) and New Moon (2009 film)

Summit Entertainment optioned Twilight in April 2007. Catherine Hardwicke directed the film, and the screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg.[35] It stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen.[36] The movie was released on November 21, 2008.[37] Meyer makes a brief cameo appearance in a diner scene in the film.[38] Following the success of Twilight, Summit greenlit a film adaptation of the sequel, New Moon, in November 2008.[39] Chris Weitz is directing the film,[40] which has a planned release date of November 20, 2009.[41]

Other works

One of Meyer's short stories was published in Prom Nights from Hell, a collection of stories about bad prom nights with supernatural effects. Other authors who contributed to this collection are Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, and Lauren Myracle. Prom Nights from Hell was released in April 2007.

In May 2008, Meyer's adult sci-fi novel, The Host, was released by the adult division of Little, Brown and Company; it follows the story of Melanie Stryder and Wanderer, a young woman and an invading alien "soul," who are forced to work as one. The Host debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list,[42] and remained on the list for 26 weeks.[43] In March 2008, Meyer stated that she was "almost done" writing a possible sequel to The Host, entitled The Soul.[44] If she were to continue the series, the third book would be called The Seeker.[45]

Meyer mentions having several other book ideas on file, including a ghost story titled Summer House and a novel involving time travel,[46] as well as another about mermaids.[47]

On August 28, 2008, it was announced that Meyer had written the treatment for Jack's Mannequin music video, "The Resolution", which she co-directed the following week.[48][49]

Publications

Twilight series
  1. Twilight (2005)
  2. New Moon (2006)
  3. Eclipse (2007)
  4. Breaking Dawn (2008)
Other books

References

  1. ^ Acocella, Joan (2009-03-16). "In the Blood: A Critic at Large". The New Yorker. p. 103. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  2. ^ a b Claudia Parsons (2008-11-20). ""Twilight" publisher sees film boosting book sales". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  3. ^ a b Kenneth Turan (2002-11-21). "Movie Review: 'Twilight'". LA Times. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  4. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/2008-12-17-meyer-10-picks_N.htm
  5. ^ a b "Sellers basked in Stephenie Meyer's 'Twilight' in 2008". USA Today. 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite news}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  6. ^ "The top 100 titles of 2008". USA Today. 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  7. ^ Cracroft, Richard H. (Winter 2008). "YA Novels and Mormon Memoirs". Brigham Young University Magazine. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  8. ^ a b StephenieMeyer.com | The Story Behind Twilight
  9. ^ Walker, Michael R. (Winter 2007). "A Teenage Tale With Bite". Brigham Young University Magazine. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  10. ^ Time Magazine Interview with Stephenie Meyer
  11. ^ Carma Wadley (2008-05-11). "Meyer on fire with books". Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ StephenieMeyer.com Official Bio
  13. ^ Booklist review cited on amazon.com
  14. ^ Kirkus Reviews cited on bn.com
  15. ^ Children's Books: Best Sellers from The New York Times, August 2007
  16. ^ Stephenie Meyer: A New J.K. Rowling? Time magazine
  17. ^ Jacks, Brian (2008-08-04). "'Breaking Dawn' Sells 1.3 Million Copies in One Day". MTV.com. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  18. ^ Jim Milliot (2008-08-04). "'Breaking Dawn' Breaks Hachette Records". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  19. ^ Hephzibah Anderson (2009-04-03). "Obama's 'Dreams,' Meyer's Vampires Capture 'Nibbie' Book Awards". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  20. ^ Anita Singh (2008-08-22). "Harry Potter under threat from Bella Swan in new vampire film Twilight". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  21. ^ StephenieMeyer.com Twilight Series | Breaking Dawn
  22. ^ a b c StephenieMeyer.com Twilight Series | Midnight Sun
  23. ^ "Stephenie Meyer spits dummy, dumps book after spoiler post". www.meeja.com.au. 2008-09-03. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  24. ^ TheTwilightSaga.com
  25. ^ City of Forks, Washington: Stephenie Meyer Day
  26. ^ Stephenie Meyer: A New J.K. Rowling?
  27. ^ "The Host with the Most: Stephenie Meyer discusses The Host". Little, Brown Book Group. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  28. ^ Karen Valby (2008-11-05). "Stephenie Meyer: 12 of My 'Twilight' Inspirations". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  29. ^ Proctor, Maurine (August 8, 2008). "Stephenie Meyer's Twilight". Meridian. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  30. ^ StephenieMeyer.com Twilight Series | Twilight | Playlist
  31. ^ StephenieMeyer.com Twilight Series | New Moon | Playlist
  32. ^ StephenieMeyer.com Twilight Series | Eclipse | Playlist
  33. ^ StephenieMeyer.com Twilight Series | Breaking Dawn | Playlist
  34. ^ http://blogs.usaweekend.com/whos_news/2009/02/exclusive-steph.html
  35. ^ Fleming, Michael Hardwicke to direct Meyer's 'Twilight', Variety (October 2, 2007)
  36. ^ StephenieMeyer.com Twilight Series | Twilight | Twilight the Movie
  37. ^ A Strategic Move? Twilight moves release date to November 21! - The Movie-Fanatic
  38. ^ Larry Carroll (2008-04-04). "Exclusive: 'Twilight' Author Stephenie Meyer Shoots Movie Cameo". MTV. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  39. ^ Carroll, Larry (2008-11-22). "'Twilight' Sequel Confirmed: 'New Moon' To Hit The Big Screen". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  40. ^ "Chris Weitz To Direct Summit Entertainment's New Moon". Summit Entertainment. 2008-12-13. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  41. ^ Sperling, Nicole (2008-12-10). "'Twilight' sequel: New details on 'New Moon'". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  42. ^ Books - Best-Seller Lists - New York Times
  43. ^ "The 25 Entertainers of the Year". Entertainment Weekly. 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  44. ^ More From Berlin Twilight Lexicon
  45. ^ 'Twilight' Writer Stephenie Meyer Wants Matt Damon For 'Host' Movie - Movie News Story MTV Movie News
  46. ^ Stephenie Meyer's vampire empire Stephenie Meyer | Cover Story | Books | Entertainment Weekly | 4
  47. ^ Twilight series offers young people a twist on vampire fiction - CBC Arts Books
  48. ^ James Montgomery (2008-08-28). "'Twilight' Author Stephenie Meyer To Direct Vampire-Free Jack's Mannequin Video". MTV. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  49. ^ Jennifer Vineyard (2008-09-05). "'Twilight' Author Stephenie Meyer Tries To Drown Jack's Mannequin In 'Resolution' Video". MTV. Retrieved 2008-10-29.

External links

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